This is a quick guide for importing 3D models into Quest3D. The preferred format for Quest3D is the .x (DirectX) file format. The benefit of the DirectX object format is that there are exporters available for 3D Studio MAX, Maya, SoftImage and Lightwave 3D. Another benefit of this format is that it can contain motions, vertex colors and skinning data. Please note that the exporter must support these feutures if you want to export them. In this tutorial we will use the X exporter for 3D Studio MAX to import a model.
Recently, Microsoft released a new exporter for 3D Studio MAX. We improved this exporter so it is more stable. This exporter is available for 3D Studio MAX 4.2, 5.0 and 6.0.
Issues with the previous versions of the exporter have been resolved:
Exports normals correctly
Fixed several crash bugs
Swaps the Y and Z axis
Texture coordinates are exported correctly
MAX uses a coordinate system where the Y and Z axes are swapped in comparison to Quest3D. The new exporter swaps these axes so you can import the model directly into Quest3D without the need for swapping axes. The new exporter is included with version 2.1a of Quest3D.
Start 3D studio MAX and create a t***s (since you are exporting from 3D Studio MAX, I assume you know how to do this). select "Export..." from the "File" menu and save the object as "T***s.x". A dialog pops up with exporter options. select the "Binary" option for the X file data format and press "Go!". You now have exported your model.
Quit MAX and start Quest3D. select "Import..." from the file menu. select the "T***s.x" file and requester will pop up that requests a pool name. The pool name is the name for the storage space where the object will be stored in Quest3D. Just press ok to store the object using the default pool name.
Next, an import options dialog pops up that allows you to load the .x file as one single object, multiple objects or a single skinned mesh. In this case leave this option at "Single object".
Make sure all options are unchecked except the first option. This option makes sure the names of surfaces and objects are imported correctly. The new exporter does not require you to flip the Z and Y axis anymore so you can leave this option unchecked. If you are using Maya for this tutorial, you can check the "Flip X Axis" option.
The last option allows you to override the texture paths that are stored in the model. If you enable this option, you can place all your textures in the same folder as the .x file.
Press "Ok" to import the model.
After pressing ok, a new group was created that has the pool name you specified earlier (t***s.x). Click on "t***s.x" in the group list to make sure the imported group is visible in the channel graph. Drag a "Quickstart/ObjectInspection" template to the channel graph and drag a link from the "DX8 3D Object" channel to the "DX8 3D Render" channel.
Select the "Start 3D Scene" channel and press the right mouse button. From the context menu, select "Set as start channel". In the Animation window at the bottom right you can now see your object. Enable***n mode to inspect the object. Use your scroll wheel to zoom in or out on the object and use the left mouse button to orbit around the object.